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LOCAL GOVERNMENT CHANGE COMMISSION 2015 REDIVISION OF ELECTORAL DIVISIONS WITHIN BANANA SHIRE COUNCIL FINAL DETERMINATION AUGUST 2015
LOCAL GOVERNMENT CHANGE COMMISSION
2015
REDIVISION OF ELECTORAL DIVISIONS WITHIN BANANA SHIRE COUNCIL
FINAL DETERMINATION
AUGUST 2015
LOCAL GOVERNMENT CHANGE COMMISSION
2015
REDIVISION OF ELECTORAL DIVISIONS WITHIN BANANA SHIRE COUNCIL
FINAL DETERMINATION
AUGUST 2015
Electoral Commission of Queensland Telephone: 1300 881 665 Level 6, 160 Mary Street, Brisbane Qld 4000 Facsimile: (07) 3036 5776 GPO Box 1393, Brisbane Qld 4001 Website: www.ecq.qld.gov.au
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FOREWORD ........................................................................................................................ 3
CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 4
TERMS OF REFERENCE ................................................................................................. 4
LEGISLATIVE PROVISIONS ............................................................................................ 4
DETERMINING THE QUOTA ............................................................................................ 4
Technical Process ................................................................................................................... 5
Table 1 – Enrolment, Projections and Averages .................................................................. 5
CHAPTER 2 – THE REVIEW PROCESS ............................................................................. 6
CHAPTER 3 – FINAL DETERMINATION ............................................................................. 7
CURRENT ENROLMENT ..................................................................................................... 7
Table 2 – Summary of Enrolments for the Current Electoral Divisions .............................. 7
PROPOSED DETERMINATION ........................................................................................ 7
OBJECTION TO THE PROPOSED DETERMINATION ..................................................... 8
FINAL DETERMINATION .................................................................................................. 8
Table 3 – Summary of Enrolments for the Final Electoral Divisions .................................. 8
APPENDIX A Previous Electoral Divisions
APPENDIX B Minister's Referral and Council's Submission
APPENDIX C Invitation for Suggestions
APPENDIX D Commission's Proposed Determination
APPENDIX E Invitation for Objections to the Proposal Comments to the Proposed Determination
APPENDIX F Maps of Council’s Electoral Division for 2016 Elections
FOREWORD
This report outlines the Final Determination for the redivision of electoral divisions within Banana Shire.
The Local Government Act 2009 (Qld) (the Act) provides for a Local Government Change Commission (the Change Commission) to conduct the assessment phase of the boundary change process. The Act also provides for the Change Commission to be the appointed independent assessment body for boundary changes within Banana Shire.
The Change Commission is made up of the Electoral Commissioner or a combination of the Electoral Commissioner, the Deputy Electoral Commissioner and a casual Commissioner. The Change Commission for this review is made up of:
• Mr Walter van der Merwe, Electoral Commissioner; and• Mr Gregory Rowe, casual Commissioner (appointed on 13 November 2015 for three
years by the Governor in Council).
On 2 April 2015 a reference was made to the Change Commission by the Minister responsible for Local Government (see Appendix B).
For electoral purposes Banana Shire is divided into six electoral divisions. This booklet outlines the Change Commission’s Final Determination for the boundaries of the divisions. It also sets out the reasons for the Change Commission’s determination. The Change Commission’s proposals were adopted unanimously at a meeting held on Thursday 6 August 2015, both Commissioners were present.
Chapter 1 of this booklet provides an introduction to the Change Commission’s requirements for undertaking an assessment of the internal boundaries. Chapter 2 presents a summary of the review process that was undertaken. A more detailed outline of the Final Determination appears in Chapter 3. Maps of the final boundary changes are in Appendix F.
In accordance with the Act the Change Commission may conduct the review in any way that it considers appropriate. To this end, the Change Commission provided data on the current boundaries and enrolment statistics as sourced from the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) as at 23 February 2015. The Change Commission called for both suggestions and objections to the proposed boundary changes. No public submissions or objections were received.
The Banana Shire Council had provided an initial written submission and maps prior to calling for suggestions. Council then expressed their support for the changes detailed in the Proposed Determination with one exception. The Commission is appreciative of the Council for its submission and correspondence throughout this process.
The Commissioners would also like to acknowledge the valuable assistance, expertise and work effort provided by the mapping and support staff of the Electoral Commission Queensland including Zonka Petrusevksa, Kurt Bonair, Moira McNeil, Yan Liu, Lesley Trost and Elise Arklay and extend their thanks to the Queensland Treasury for the population projection figures.
Walter van der Merwe and Gregory Rowe
Change Commission
Banana Shire Council 2015 Final Determination
Local Government Change Commission 3
CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION
TERMS OF REFERENCE
On 2 April 2015 the Change Commission received a reference to review the electoral arrangements of the Banana Shire Council from the Honourable Jackie Trad MP, Minister responsible for Local Government (see Appendix B).
LEGISLATIVE PROVISIONS
The Banana Shire Council has 9,274 electors (as at 23 February 2015). The Council is divided into six electoral divisions. Each division elects one Councillor while the Mayor is elected by all voters in the local government area. Elections are set by date to be held every four years as prescribed by the Local Government Electoral Act 2011. The next Banana Shire Council election is scheduled for 19 March 2016.
The Local Government Act 2009 (Qld) (the Act) allows for changes to divisions in local government areas to ensure that each division has a reasonable proportion of electors. Pursuant to Section 22 of the Act, the Change Commission for this review was constituted by the Electoral Commissioner and the casual Commissioner.
Section 15 of the Act requires the Banana Shire Council to review whether each of the divisions has a reasonable proportion of electors and give the Electoral Commissioner and the Minister a written notice of the results of the review no later than 1 March in the year that is one year before the year of the quadrennial elections. The date referred to in this report is known as the information date. The Council reported that two divisions (Divisions 2 and 5) did not meet the reasonable proportion of elector’s requirements on 10 March 2015.
Under the provisions of the Section 19 of the Act, in reviewing the division of a local government area the Change Commission is required to consider:
1) The Change Commission is responsible for assessing whether a proposed local government change is in the public interest.
2) In doing so, the Change Commission must consider: a. whether the proposed local government change is consistent with a Local
Government Act; and b. the views of the Minister about the proposed local government change; and c. any other matters prescribed under a regulation.
The Change Commission is required to release the outcomes of its assessment to the public and the reasoning behind the results, by publishing its findings in a newspaper circulating generally in the local government area, in the Government Gazette and on the Electoral Commission’s website. The Commission must also give the results of its assessment to the Minister for Local Government for implementation. The method of implementation is by way of regulation by the Governor in Council. A decision of the Change Commission is not subject to appeal.
DETERMINING THE QUOTA
The Act specifies binding quota requirements. A quota is determined by dividing the total number of electors in the local government area by the number of councillors (other than the mayor), plus or minus:
Final Determination Banana Shire Council 2015
4 Local Government Change Commission
• for a council with more than 10,000 electors – 10%; or • for any other council – 20%.
Section 15 of the Act allows for a margin of 20 per cent for Banana Shire to be adopted in relation to determining a reasonable proportion of electors. For ease of understanding the proportion of electors and the margin will be referred to in this document as “quota”.
The Change Commission, when formulating its proposals must ensure that each division complies with the quota as near as practicable to the election date. There is no latitude allowed for the Change Commission to determine electoral boundaries that do not comply with these requirements.
Technical Process
Key to the redivision is elector count information sourced from the electoral roll organised around the smallest unit for the release of Census data known as a Statistical Area (SA1) utilised by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The Australian Electoral Commission, which maintains the electoral roll for Queensland pursuant to a joint roll agreement, provided statistics from the roll on numbers of electors in each SA1 in the area of the Banana Shire on 23 February 2015. Projections of population movement were then applied to the SA1s using data provided by Queensland Treasury. Future dates for projections were set at 31 March 2016 (just after the next quadrennial election) and 28 February 2019 (the last opportunity before the information date preceding the March 2020 election).
Table 1 – Enrolment, Projections and Averages
23 February 2015 31 March 2016 28 February 2019
Number of divisions
6 6 6
Enrolment 9,274 9,313 9,354
Average electors per division
1,546 1,552 1,559
Permitted Maximum Number (+20%) per
division 1,855 1,863 1,871
Permitted Minimum Number (-20%) per
division 1,237 1,242 1,247
Banana Shire Council 2015 Final Determination
Local Government Change Commission 5
CHAPTER 2 – THE REVIEW PROCESS
The Banana Shire Council is divided into six single-member divisions. By letter dated 10 March 2015, the Council advised the Minister that Divisions 2 and 5 were out of tolerance. Based on 23 February 2015 enrolment data, the Change Commission calculated a quota (average enrolment) of 1,546, with a minimum of 1,237 (-20%) and an upper limit of 1,855 (+20%) electors permissible in each district. Accompanying its notice to the Minister, the Banana Shire Council lodged a proposed solution that involved changes to Divisions 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6. Relevant correspondence is attached at Appendix B. In accordance with Section 19 (4) of the Act, a public notice was published on 1 May 2015 inviting suggestions from interested persons. The advertisement (see Appendix C) noted that received submissions would be made available for public inspection. Suggestions closed on 22 May 2015. No suggestions were received. A second phase of consultation began on the 10 July 2015 following an advertised call for objections to the Commission’s Proposed Determination (see Appendix E). Objections closed on the 31 July 2015. One objection was received from the Banana Shire Council. In reaching its Final Determination the Change Commission took into account Council’s submissions, as well as the projected future changes in electoral numbers provided by the Queensland Treasury. Wherever possible, the Commission endeavours to devise boundaries that not only meet current quota requirements but are sustainable for at least two quadrennial elections and are in the public interest. The nature and extent of population growth or decline may render this impossible in some cases, and the Change Commission recognises the possibility that boundaries may need to be reviewed again in readiness for the 2020 quadrennial elections.
Final Determination Banana Shire Council 2015
6 Local Government Change Commission
CHAPTER 3 – FINAL DETERMINATION CURRENT ENROLMENT
The Banana Shire Council has a total of 9,274 enrolled electors spread across six divisions, with an average number of 1,546 electors per division. Applying the plus or minus tolerance of 20 per cent allowed by the Act, the minimum number of electors required for each division is 1,237, with a maximum of 1,855.
As can be observed in Table 2, Divisions 2 and 5 are currently out of quota. Division 2 is over the maximum allowable number of electors, while Division 5 is under the minimum. To address this imbalance in elector numbers, both Council and the Commission needed to alter the divisional boundaries to decrease the number of electors in Division 2 and increase the numbers of electors in Division 5. As part of its decision making process, the Change Commission has attempted to cater for future demographic trends, to keep all of the divisions within the Banana Shire Council in quota in the lead up to the 2020 quadrennial election.
Table 2 – Summary of Enrolments for the Current Electoral Divisions
Division Name
Enrolment as at
23/02/2015
(%) Deviation
from Quota
ProjectedEnrolment
as at 31/03/2016
(%) Deviation
from Quota
ProjectedEnrolment
as at 28/02/2019
(%) Deviation
from Quota
Division 1 1,454 -5.93 1,462 -5.81 1,483 -4.87
Division 2 1,885 +21.95 1,911 +23.12 1,966 +26.11
Division 3 1,597 +3.32 1,598 +2.95 1,588 +1.86
Division 4 1,527 -1.21 1,521 -2.01 1,503 -3.59
Division 5 1,210 -21.72 1,216 -21.66 1,219 -21.81
Division 6 1,601 +3.58 1,605 +3.4 1,595 +2.31
PROPOSED DETERMINATION
The Change Commission received no response from the public in response to calling for suggestions in early May 2015. Therefore the Change Commission formulated its Proposed Determination based off its own modelling and the proposal put forward by the Banana Shire Council.
The Commission recommended minor alterations to the Council’s proposal, shifting an additional 44 electors from Division 2 into Division 1 (146 electors in total). Council’s proposed move of the Moura area from Division 4 into Division 5 was accepted; however the Commission rejected Council’s proposal to move the boundary and subsequently nine electors from Division 6 into Division 5 (see Appendix D).
Banana Shire Council 2015 Final Determination
Local Government Change Commission 7
OBJECTION TO THE PROPOSED DETERMINATION
The Council responded to the Commission’s Proposed Determination by objecting to the removal of their suggested change between Divisions 5 and 6 (see Appendix E). Again, no other public comment was received.
Council provided sufficient justification to show the significant community of interest argument for shifting nine electors from Division 6 into Division 5. Based on the information they provided, the Commission determined this boundary change was in the public interest and accepted the change as part of the final report. Council indicated their support for the Commission’s proposed additional changes to Divisions 2 and 1, and the movement of an extra 44 electors.
FINAL DETERMINATION
The Commission was satisfied that its proposal was well-reasoned and satisfied the need to bring the divisions of Banana Shire into quota, while maintaining communities of interest. The addition of nine electors from Division 6 into Division 5, as suggested by the Council continues this theme of maintaining community interest.
The Commission recommends that it’s Proposed Determination with Council’s additional change between Divisions 5 and 6 are to be the new boundaries. Projected growth figures suggest these changes are likely to keep all divisions within quota and are expected to prevent the need for future boundary changes prior to the 2020 local government elections.
The Change Commission’s final recommendation to the Governor in Council is as follows:
• That for the purposes of the 2016 local government elections, the Banana Shire Council be redivided into six divisions as shown on the maps contained in Appendix F of this report.
The Commission notes that implementation of this recommendation will give rise to the following divisional elector numbers:
Table 3 – Summary of Enrolments for the Final Electoral Divisions
Division Name
Enrolment as at
23/02/2015
(%) Deviation
from Quota
Projected Enrolment
as at 31/03/2016
(%) Deviation
from Quota
Projected Enrolment
as at 28/02/2019
(%) Deviation
from Quota
Division 1 1,600 +3.52 1,608 +3.61 1,630 +4.55
Division 2 1,739 +12.51 1,765 +13.72 1,819 +16.68
Division 3 1,597 +3.32 1,598 +2.96 1,588 +1.86
Division 4 1,430 -7.48 1,424 -8.25 1,406 -9.81
Division 5 1,316 -14.86 1,322 -14.82 1,325 -15.01
Division 6 1,592 +3.0 1,595 +2.77 1,586 +1.73
Final Determination Banana Shire Council 2015
8 Local Government Change Commission
APPENDIX A
Previous Electoral Divisions
APPENDIX B
Minister's Referral Council's Submission
APPENDIX C
Invitation for Suggestions
QUEENSLAND CHANGE COMMISSION
BANANA SHIRE COUNCIL
The Banana Shire Council has advised that its electoral divisions no longer meet the quota requirements set down in the Local Government Act. The Minister responsible for Local Government has in turn referred the matter to the Change Commission for independent assessment. The Commission invites written suggestions from interested persons and bodies relating to the council’s electoral divisions, to be lodged on or before 5.00 pm Friday 22 May 2015.For the purpose of this review, the Commission has determined that the average number of enrolled electors for electoral divisions is 1,546. Section 15 of the Act requires the Commission to ensure that the number of enrolled electors in all divisions does not differ from this average by more than 20%. Applying the specified level of tolerance means that the minimum number of electors in each division must be 1,237, with a maximum of 1,855. (These figures are as at 23 February 2015 and may need to be readjusted slightly depending upon population growth between now and the Local Government elections scheduled for March 2016.)Further information about the review process and advice on formulating suggestions may be found on the Electoral Commission of Queensland website under Local Government Reviews.Suggestions should be marked BANANA SHIRE and may be lodged: - by posting to
Change Commissioner, Local Government Change Commission GPO Box 1393, BRISBANE, QLD 4001
- by personal delivery, between the hours of 9.00 am and 5.00 pm to: Electoral Commission of Queensland, Level 6, Forestry House,160 Mary Street, Brisbane
- by email to [email protected] or - online formIt would assist the Commission if anyone intending to submit maps with written suggestions could do so by using maps of the present divisions which are available on the Commission’s website, or by contacting the Commission on 1300 881 665 for assistance.If you wish to lodge a submission, please note that all submissions will be published in their entirety (including name and address details) on the Commission’s website.Walter van der Merwe Change Commissioner Electoral Commission of Queensland
INVITATION FOR SUBMISSIONS
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APPENDIX D
Commission's Proposed Determination
Enrolmen
t(23 Februa
ry 201
5)
Quo
ta
Varia
tion (%
)Quo
ta
Status
Enrolmen
t(31 March 201
6)
Quo
ta
Varia
tion (%
)Quo
ta
Status
Enrolmen
t(28 Februa
ry 201
9)
Quo
ta
Varia
tion (%
)Quo
ta
Status
DIVISION 1
1,60
0
3.52
In1,60
8
3.61
In1,63
0
4.55
InDIVISION 2
1,73
9
12.51
In1,76
5
13.72
In1,81
9
16.68
InDIVISION 3
1,59
7
3.32
In1,59
8
2.96
In1,58
8
1.86
InDIVISION 4
1,43
0
‐7.48
In1,42
4
‐8.25
In1,40
6
‐9.81
InDIVISION 5
1,30
7
‐15.44
In1,31
3
‐15.40
In1,31
6
‐15.59
InDIVISION 6
1,60
1
3.58
In1,60
4
3.35
In1,59
5
2.31
In
Actual Total
9,27
4
Projected To
tal
9,31
2
Projected To
tal
9,35
4
Actual Average
1,54
6
Projected Av
erage
1,55
2
Projected Av
erage
1,55
9
Actual Low
er Lim
it1,23
7
Projected Lower Lim
it1,24
2
Projected Lower Lim
it1,24
7
Actual Upp
er Lim
it1,85
5
Projected Upp
er Lim
it1,86
2
Projected Upp
er Lim
it1,87
1
Projected ‐ 2
016
Projected ‐ 2
019
Actual
BANAN
A SH
IRE CO
UNCIL
Summary Re
port of P
ropo
sed Division's En
rolm
ent F
igures
Prop
osed
Division
APPENDIX E
Invitation for Objections to the Proposal
Comments to the Proposed Determination
LOCAL GOVERNMENT CHANGE COMMISSION
BANANA SHIRE COUNCIL
The Banana Shire Council has advised that its electoral divisions no longer meet the quota requirements set down in the Local Government Act 2009. The Minister responsible for Local Government has in turn referred the matter to the Local Government Change Commission for independent assessment.
The Commission now invites written objections from interested persons and bodies’ relating to the council’s proposed electoral divisions, to be lodged on or before 5.00pm Friday 31 July 2015.
For this phase of the review, the enrolment for Banana Shire Council as at 23 February 2015 is being used. The total enrolment was 9,724. The Commission has determined that 1,546 is the reasonable proportion of electors for an electoral division. Section 17 of the Act requires the Commission to ensure that the number of enrolled electors in all divisions does not differ from this reasonable proportion by ±20%. In order to meet the enrolment criteria set out in the Act the number of electors in each division must be within the minimum of 1,237 and the maximum of 1,855. Furthermore, the Act requires that the reasonable proportion of electors must be worked out as near as practicable to the time when the change is to happen to ensure demographic representation for each division of Banana Shire. Projected data for March 2016 and February 2019 has been used to assist with this requirement.
Further information about the review process, reference material, maps, guidelines and advice on preparing objections to the proposal may be found on the Electoral Commission Queensland (ECQ) website – Under ELECTORAL DISTRICTS then LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS then LOCAL GOVERNMENT REVIEWS then click Banana Shire.
Anyone interested in lodging an objection should note that all objections will be published on the Commission’s website in their entirety and in a publication.
Objections should be marked BANANA and may be:
- posted to: Local Government Change Commission, GPO Box 1393, BRISBANE, QLD 4001
- personally delivered to: Electoral Commission Queensland, Level 6, Forestry House,
160 Mary Street, Brisbane, between the hours of 9.00 am and 5.00 pm
- lodged by email to: [email protected] or
- by online form:
Which can be found on the ECQ website (www.ecq.qld.gov.au) Under ELECTORAL DISTRICTS then LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS then LOCAL GOVERNMENT REVIEWS then click Banana Shire and scroll to the bottom of the Proposed Determination Section.
It would assist the Commission if anyone intending to submit objections accompanies them with the electronic mapping data if this has been prepared, preferably in MapInfo and/or KML format in projection GDA94 – Longitude/Latitude (Australia GDA94).
For any assistance related to the review matter please refer to the Commission’s website, or contact the Commission on 1300 881 665 for assistance.
Walter van der Merwe Change Commissioner Electoral Commission Queensland
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INVITATION FOR OBJECTIONS TO THE PROPOSAL
APPENDIX F
Maps of Council's Electoral Divisions for 2016 Elections
